TOM JONES TO PERFORM CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ‘PRAISE & BLAME’ IN ITS ENTIRETY AT CELTIC CONNECTIONS

Celtic Connections 2011, sponsored by ScottishPower

13^th – 30^th January 300 events, 18 days, 14 venues

Sir Tom Jones is to appear at Celtic Connections this January in an exclusive one-off show as part of Glasgow’s annual folk, roots, traditional and world music festival. A musical icon and living legend, Tom Jones will perform his latest album Praise & Blame – a highly acclaimed collection of gospel, blues and spiritual songs – at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Monday 17^th January. This very special performance is supported by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.

Tom Jones will join a stellar cast of globally renowned artists already announced for Celtic Connections 2011, which is sponsored by ScottishPower. His performance is part of the festival’s major gospel strand, which also features the likes of Mavis Staples, The Blind Boys of Alabama and Bettye LaVette.

Praise & Blame is a back-to-roots collection of American gospel, blues, traditional and country songs, which features material sourced from the likes of Mahalia Jackson, Bob Dylan, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, John Lee Hooker and Billy Joe Shaver. Tom Jones will be backed by a six-piece band for this exclusive Celtic Connections appearance.

Donald Shaw, Celtic Connections Artistic Director, said:

“Tom Jones is a true musical icon, and we are honoured to be able to bring him to Celtic Connections. This January, the festival pays tribute to the influence of the great gospel tradition, and Tom Jones’ performance of his stunning gospel, roots and blues album, Praise & Blame, forms part of this strand.”

Councilor George Redmond, the Chairman of Glasgow Life, said:

“Generations of music fans will be looking forward to watching Tom Jones at the Royal Concert Hall. From the Welsh valleys to Vegas and everywhere in between, he is a musical powerhouse and I’m sure that Glasgow’s music fans will enjoy what is destined to be a memorable performance.”

Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said:

"Glasgow is fast earning its stripes as a major event city, and artists of this caliber provide it with an ideal platform on which to reach a world wide audience. This performance by Tom Jones will not only enhance Celtic Connections but will also reinforce the city’s credentials as Glasgow: Scotland with style.  Our aspirations for major events are to be the first, the only and the best and Tom Jones fits the bill perfectly."

The Celtic Connections programme was launched last month, with other festival highlights including The Waterboys: An Appointment with Mr Yeats, Rosanne Cash, Grant Lee Buffalo, Fran Healy, Richard Thompson, Zakir Hussain, Cheikh Lô, Fiddlers’ Bid, Treacherous Orchestra, Lau, a one night only Love and Money reunion, and Forever Young – A 70^th Birthday Tribute to Bob Dylan featuring Rosanne Cash, Josh Rouse, Kris Drever, Tim O’Brien, Roddy Hart and the Lonesome Fire and more.

The festival, which was named Best Cultural Event at the prestigious UK Event Awards last month, runs from 13^th – 30^th January with around 300 gigs, one-off collaborative shows, ceilidhs, talks, workshops, free events and late night sessions taking place in 14 venues across Glasgow.

Tom Jones will perform Praise & Blame, on Monday 17^th January, 7:30pm at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Main Auditorium.

Click here to for full line-up and ticket information

Tom Jones Sings for War Child at the BSME Awards

The British Society of Magazine Editors had their annual awards ceremony on 10th November 2010 in London.

On the evening Tom Jones performed 5 songs for War Child; 3 songs from Praise and Blame and 2 from his past repertoire, receiving two standing ovations.

War Child are an international charity that protects children living in the world's most dangerous war zones. They currently work in Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda and D.R. Congo.

Watch Tom's Perormance on BBC1's Children In Need

On Friday 19th November the BBC hosted their annual Children In Need charity evening. Tom Jones was one of the live performers on the show, which raised over £80 million pounds for the charity.

Watch Tom's performance of 'Give A Little Love' and 'Didn't It Rain' from Friday nights show here...

Tom Jones Visits Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Centre in London

On Monday 1st November Sir Tom Jones received the Music Industry Trust Award (MITs), which recognises outstanding achievement in the UK music industry.

The MITs supports two charities, Nordoff Robbins and the BRIT Trust (which includes the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology) and to date has raised £3.7 million.

To mark this recent achievement in Tom's career, he visited the Nordoff Robbins music therapy centre in North West London to learn a little more about what Nordoff Robbins is all about.

Nordoff Robbins is the UK’s largest charity that specialises in transforming the lives of children and adults constrained by illness, disability, trauma or isolation, through the power of music.            The charity brings music's transforming power to children and adults in need, through the delivery of music therapy services, music and health projects and community music projects, as well as education programmes and research.

During Tom’s visit he met Fiifi and Frankie and joined them in their music therapy session.

Fiifi is 9 years old. He has global development delay and does not speak. Music therapy offers him a space where his non-verbal communications form the basis of flexible, shared music making with the therapist. It also encourages him to sustain interactions for longer.

Frankie is 8. He also can’t speak and has a diagnosis of autism. Although he does not have speech Frankie uses his voice very expressively and also communicates with eye contact and gestures. He is often energetic and likes to wonder around the room but music seems to help calm him and he can sit and listen for more sustained lengths of time now. Frankie has become more aware of the musical interaction since he began coming to music therapy.

Tom spent the afternoon with Fiifi and Frankie, playing instruments and singing to them. He was astounded at how positively they responded to music and enjoyed seeing their reactions to the sound of his voice.

Tom said: “Having an opportunity to visit Nordoff Robbins and meet some of their clients, including Fiifi and Frankie, was a real honour.                                                                                                     Many of us feel the power of music and know the important role it plays in our daily lives, but no one more so than Fiifi, Frankie and all the other kids and adults helped every day across the country by Nordoff Robbins. I got to see first hand how music therapy actually works—how it reaches people in a very deep way. I got just a glimpse of the internal world these boys live in, and at the same time I could see them responding to what was going on in the session—it was magical. Music in any form is the most powerful of all the communication tools—we all experience sounds in a unique but shared way. I saw how these boys could hear, and how they responded, and how progress could be made in a really meaningful way.”

David Munns, Chairman of Nordoff Robbins and Chairman of the MITs Award committee said: “Tom Jones is one of those rare beings, a timeless entertainer, a great guy, who clearly loves what he does, and whose talent appeals to successive generations. Tom is Mr Cool, one of the world’s greatest singers and performers and we are extremely proud and honoured that he is the 2010 recipient of the Music Industry Trusts Award.

“Tom’s visit to our music therapy centre in London was a great opportunity for him to see first hand the difference music can make to the lives of many thousands of people both young and old constrained by illness, disability, trauma or isolation, working with Nordoff Robbins therapists everyday to make a positive difference to their lives.”

The lovely photographs below show Tom on his visit, having fun with Fiifi on the piano.

Photography by Simon Webb

Tom Jones Raises the Roof at The Union Chapel

Last night Tom had the pleasure of playing MENCAP's Little Noise Session at The Union Chapel, Islington.

Curated by BBC Radio 1's  Jo Whiley (picture above), Tom was supported on the night by James Blake, Lauren Pritchard and The Ting Tings.

It was a fantastic night, with superb music raising the roof of the chapel and raising money for the brilliant work they do at MENCAP.

Stay tuned for more pictures to follow.

Listen to Tom's Fantastic Interview with Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 2

Listen to Tom's fantastic interview on Simon Mayo's BBC Radio 2 show on Monday 15th November.

Listen from 0:59 minutes to hear She's A Lady, Run On, Didn't It Rain and a great interview.

Click here to be taken to the BBCiplayer

Mark Lawson Talks To...Tom Jones. Watch the BBC 4 Interview Here

Mark Lawson talks to the iconic singer Sir Tom Jones about his life in and out of the limelight. Jones reflects on his modest upbringing in a coal mining community from the early pub tours in his native south Wales to achieving international acclaim - and the accompanying pressures of fame. Since the 1960s Jones's unique voice and charisma established him as the quintessential pop star and sex symbol with hits such as It's Not Unusual and What's New Pussycat? After a succession of number one records, he moved to the USA where he hosted television shows and toured tirelessly. For five decades he has remained one of the most recognisable voices in popular music. Given his success at 70, a new album and new image, Sir Tom shares some of his most memorable life experiences and his dreams for the future.

Click here to watch the interview via BBCiplayer

Tom Jones Honoured with MITS Award

Sir Tom Jones has been handed a Music Industry Trusts' Award in recognition of his 50 year musical career.

Past recipients of the MITS include Sir Elton John, Beatles producer Sir George Martin and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Director Tim Burton presented this year's prize and was joined by comic Rob Brydon and singer Cerys Matthews at the awards ceremony.

Watch the BBC News report here

Stars Salute Tom Jones In London

Kelly Jones of rock act Stereophonics and Cerys Matthews sang for fellow Welsh artist Tom Jones as the veteran singer was honored with the Music Industry Trusts' Award - the MITs - in London. Jones - or Sir Tom Jones to use his formal title, since his knighthood in 2006 - was recognized for his contribution to the music industry over the last 46 years. His second single "It's Not Unusual" went to No. 1 in the U.K. in 1964 and No. 10 in the U.S.

Celebrity fans including director Tim Burton and his wife Helena Bonham Carter turned out for the ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel last night (Nov. 1), as well as George Martin, TV presenter Rob Brydon, musical theatre performer Michael Ball, shadow chancellor Alan Johnson and numerous executives. Organizers sold 1,100 tickets for the event, which raises money for music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins and the BRIT Trust, which helps to support the BRIT School for the Performing Arts.

The MITs Award was first staged in 1992 and has raised a total of £3.75 million ($6 million) since then, with organizers hoping the 2010 event will take the running total above £4 million ($6.4 million). As well as ticket sales, the money rolled in from raffle tickets and a digital auction where diners could bid for items such as signed lyrics by Amy Macdonald and Sharleen Spiteri via a handheld device.

But the most dramatic fund-raising element of the evening was the live auction. The original signed artwork to Coldplay's "X+Y" album went for £4,500 ($7,200) - to the band's booking agent Steve Strange of London-based X-Ray. A John Lennon and Yoko Ono perspex and plastic sculpture, which was commissioned by Lennon and was originally sold in 1981 to Kate Bush, went for £14,000 ($22,440) last night. It was donated by Bush.

Jones himself donated a gold and diamond ring - apparently given to him by a "gangster's moll" in New York - which sold for £9,000 ($14,425) to Tim Burton, who out-bid his wife.

Burton presented the award to Jones and revealed he had been a fan since childhood. "He's inspired so many people and I've seen him in concert so many times, and he just gets better and better," said Burton, who cast Jones in the 1996 film "Mars Attacks!"

Friend of Elvis

Given Jones' longevity, there were plenty of stories and notable events to recount from his career. A film tribute featured Priscilla Presley recalling how Jones and Elvis Presley inspired each other musically when they became friends in the '60s, and lyricist Don Black described how Jones actually fainted after he hit the final note on "Thunderball" on the first take, which was the version used for the recording.

Kelly Jones had a hilarious story from a dozen years ago about how he went back to his flat with Tom Jones for a singing session after an evening out. The neighbor upstairs eventually went down and told Kelly to stop playing records by Tom Jones at high volume.

Kelly Jones also performed acoustic versions of "Summertime" and "Sea Of Heartbreak" while Cerys Matthews sang a reworked version of "She's A Lady," written by Paul Anka and recorded by Tom Jones. It was Jones' highest charting U.S. single, hitting No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971.

Tom Jones said it was "wonderful, wonderful" as he received the award and the 70-year-old admitted he was "stuck for words." Rather than talk at length, he told the audience he would prefer to do a "few songs" and he was joined by the Tom Jones Band on versions of hits including "It's Not Unusual," "Kiss" and "The Green Green Grass Of Home."

Jones also performed songs from his latest gospel-flavored record and 39th studio album "Praise & Blame" (Island) - which hit No. 2 on the U.K. chart in the summer - and he was joined by Matthews on "What's New Pussycat?" from the 1965 film.

Kelly Jones sang and played guitar on a rousing rendition of "Mama Told Me Not To Come," which the pair recorded for the veteran singer's 1999 hit album "Reload."

Previous recipients of the award include Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Lucian Grainge, George Martin and broadcaster Jonathan Ross.

The evening was sponsored by Ingenious, PPL, PRS for Music and Spotify.

By Andre Paine

Read the article here at billboard.biz

Watch Tom Jones on Irelands The Late Late Show

Tom Jones joins Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late Show. Watch at 36 minutes 44 seconds to see Tom's performance of 'Strange Things' and his interview with Ryan.

Click here to watch the clip at www.rte.ie

TOM JONES TO PERFORM THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ”PRAISE & BLAME” IN EUROPE!!!

After amazing success with performances in Europe and a tremendous response to the new album “Praise & Blame”, Tom Jones now confirms that he will be hitting Sweden, Denmark and Norway this fall. The concerts will be small, intimate and highly exclusive - the tour starts at Tyrol in Stockholm November 21 and continues at Kulturbolaget in Malmo November 23, Vega in Copenhagen on November 24th and finishing at the Sentrum Scene in Oslo on November 25th.

On the highly acclaimed new release “Praise & Blame” Sir Tom Jones performs a fantastic mix of American gospel, blues and country. On top of that, the legend Jones adds on some covers signed by Bob Dylan, John Lee Hooker and Billy Joe Shaver, to mention a few. On paper it sounds like a wide range of songs, but one thing that all the songs have in common is that they are handpicked by Jones himself, together with the star producer Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Paolo Nutini), and executed completely live in the studio from start to finish.

In other words, this is an album full of performances that are in a category of all their own, and that is why Live Nation today is extra proud to confirm that the album will be performed, in total, in Sweden, by Jones and his band this fall. This tour will be the first time ever for Jones to perform the album live, and there is no doubt about that the concerts at Tyrol and Kulturbolaget will be a hot topic for a long time after the shows are finished!

Tickets for Malmo and Oslo are on sale now, tickets for Stockholm and Copenhagen will go on sale on Saturday 30th October!!

TOM JONES TO PERFORM CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ‘PRAISE & BLAME’ IN IT’S ENTIRETY EXCLUSIVELY IN HOLLAND AT MELKWEG, AMSTERDAM

After the great success of his performance in Ahoy, Rotterdam, last year and the phenomenal response to his album ‘Praise & Blame’, legendary singer Tom Jones has announced an exclusive show in Holland at Melkweg, Amsterdam on November 5^th. Ticket sales start Saturday 23^rd October.

On his critically acclaimed new album ‘Praise & Blame’, Sir Tom Jones performs a selection of American gospel, blues, traditional and country songs, including covers of songs by Bob Dylan, John Lee Hooker and Billy Joe Shaver. All songs have been picked personally by Tom Jones and producer Ethan Johns – famous for his work with a.o. Ryan Adams, Kings Of Leon and Paolo Nutini. The exclusive show, at the Amsterdam Melkweg, will be the first opportunity to catch Tom Jones perform ‘Praise & Blame’ in its entirety and promises to be a very special show.

The show will be taking place at the Rabozaal and will be seated/standing.

Friday 5^th November, Melkweg Amsterdam, Rabozaal

Hall opens: 20:30 hrs / doors: 19:30 hrs

Tickets go on sale at 10.00am on Saturday 23^rd October, priced at € 39,00 (excl. membership and booking fee) and are available from www.ticketservice.nl and at the usual outlets.

www.melkweg.nl

Tom Jones In Exclusive Session - The Sun Bizarre Sessions

Watch Tom Jones Perform Burning Hell for The Sun Bizarre Session Here I WAS honoured to have Welsh legend TOM JONES grace the Sun studios for a Biz Session.

His career has spanned an incredible 50 years and the basement walls are still shaking from his booming voice.

After performing rousing renditions of Run On and Burning Hell from his recent album Praise & Blame, Tom recalled the time he caught ROBBIE WILLIAMS sneaking up on him at home in LA. In fact, he revealed he was the one who convinced Rob and wife AYDA FIELD to set up home in the swanky Mulholland Estates.

He said: "Living near Robbie is great. I distinctly remember the day he first set foot in the area. It was a great day all round.

"I had been for a health check-up and all was good. I was in my garage drinking beer and I heard this voice coming from over the fence.

"I looked round and it was Robbie. He was checking out the estate and heard I lived there so came to me for advice.

"He came in for a look and loved it. I think he was sold. My wife stayed upstairs because she was too shy to meet him."

He continued: "Ayda is great too. They are good neighbours. They invite me round for coffee.

"Rob also tried to get me to play football with him but I can't be bumped around like that. I am not as fast as I was."

Despite avoiding contact sports, Tom says he's keen to keep in shape and has no time for people who take drugs.

Tom's good friend RICKY HATTON recently landed himself in hot water when he was allegedly filmed snorting cocaine.

Tom was saddened by the news: "I'm a huge boxing fan. He loves to eat and drink. If he's not training he's indulging. He hasn't got the discipline to bring it back.

"I've always liked alcohol but I have never been interested in drugs. Sniffing cocaine is not attractive to me. It looks like Fagin counting his money. It looks evil and I have never ever felt the need for it.

"I know a lot of people that do drugs and they say if you do cocaine you can drink more as it keeps you up. I don't need to drink any more than I do.

"I have never smoked pot. I stopped smoking cigarettes in the 60s. I'll have the occasional cigar but you don't inhale. I don't want to do that."

What a legend.

Praise & Blame is out now.

Tom Jones Looks to the Future: A CBS Special

Tom Jones' latest album is a return to the simple ways and musical values that he grew up with. Mark Phillips profiles the pop superstar who these days is looking both back and forward on his life.

You don't have to spend much time with Tom Jones around the green, green grass of his hometown of Pontypridd, in Wales, before two predictable things happen.

The first is, you ask him the dumb but irresistible question: "Does the old town look the same?"

"It looks the same from up here, I must say," he replied.

The other predictable event is that, before long . . . in this case while reminiscing in the chapel where he went to Sunday school . . . he'll break into song.

"Yea, yea, I wasn't expecting to sing today but ... anyway, 'The Old Rugged Cross':

On a hill, far away, Stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suffering and shame, But I love that old cross, Where the dearest and best Of a world of lost sinners were slain, I will cling to the old rugged cross, Where my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross And exchange it someday, for a crown.

Tom Jones - Sir Tom Jones - is now 70, and he's feeling a little nostalgic.

He's come a long way from Pontypridd, the town in the Welsh coal mining valleys where he was born. But in a lot of ways, including musically, he's coming home.

Watch Web Exclusive Interview With Tom Jones

His new album has shocked his fans and surprised the critics.

What good am I if I’m like all the rest, If I just turn away, when I see how you’re dressed, If I shut myself off so I can’t hear you cry, What good am I?

The new Tom Jones CD is almost a repudiation of the glitzy pop career he's enjoyed for five decades. It's a return to the simple ways and musical values that he grew up with.

"My father was a coal miner, and both his brothers were coal miners," Jones said.

And Tom, too, seemed destined for a working life down the mines. It was not only good steady work; it was just about the only work.

Tom visited the house where he was born, in 1940, as Tommy Woodward. And he would have followed the predicted path if not for an accident of health.

"Oh yeah, I would have been a coal miner, I would think, if I hadn't had tuberculosis when I was 12," Jones said. "But my dream was always to be a professional singer. You know, I always had that, since I was a child."

For two years he was confined to a room in a house around the corner, where the family had moved. Recovering from TB turned into the best bad thing that ever happened to him.

The doctors told him, "'Whatever you do, you cannot go down the coal mine,' because of my lungs," Jones said.

Tom's lungs - and what they allowed him to do with a song - became a ticket to a whole other life.

After trying to get a break playing the pubs and working men's clubs of Wales, he cut a demo tape of a song that was supposed to be for another singer. But when the record company executives heard it, they knew it had to be his.

It became an international hit.

Not just a star, but a style was born . . . the Tom Jones style.

Other musical tastes could come and go, but Tom Jones belting it out would always be there.

His TV show - "This is Tom Jones" - was a living room favorite in the late Sixties and early Seventies on both sides of the Atlantic.

He was more than just a singer, of course; he was a sex symbol . . . famously the target on stage of women throwing their underpants at him.

Now, older, and finally greyer, he regrets ... nothing.

"I've always felt myself as being a serious singer," Jones said, "even if . . . "

"You were doing 'Sex Bomb'?" Philips added.

"Well, yeah, or 'What's New Pussycat?' which was a novelty song. But I've always sang it in the best way that i know how. I put myself in to it.

"But then you can be shooting yourself in the foot because then if you get a hit with a song that if you don't want to be known as a 'sex' symbol, then don't record 'Sex Bomb.' So at the time I wasn't really aware of it, but it has had an effect."

"But it's not like you ran away and hid from it," said Phillips.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. I've done what I've done and I've recorded what I've recorded and I have no regrets in that area because I've done It. So I've only myself to blame!"

"Praise and Blame" is the title of his new CD. And when Tom performs numbers from it, his audience - old and new - responds, if not quite in the way they used to.

He's dialed back a bit. But then, he's had to.

"Well I mean, I cannot be at 70 years old - it would be silly to try - and be 35 or 40, maybe even 50. You can't. There is no way and if you do then you're going to look silly. And people are going to take you less seriously than when you're a young person.

"It's to do with age, there's no getting away from it," he said. "Maybe I'm trying to."

"You're not going soft on us?" Phillips asked.

"Ohhh no, no, no, no. It's not soft. There's nothing really soft on this album. You know, it's a solid, it's a strong. These songs are strong songs."

Going up the stairs at the house in Pontypridd, Jones remarked how steep they are. "Good God, these are steep. I can't remember them being like that."

So much has changed for Tom Jones from that front room in that small rented house where he was born. And here's a way to measure it: There was no indoor toilet back then.

"Ahh no, just out there," he pointed.

A lot different from a life of world tours and Las Vegas lounges and a big house in L.A.

"Can I ask you another indelicate question? Do you have any idea how many bathrooms you have in your house now?" Phillips asked.

"Urrr, the house in L.A., has about . . . Hmm, let me see . . . are there . . . 6, 7?"

Well, I guess that's a measure of something. For Tom Jones, it's a way to measure the passage of time.

"Some people say I can't stop. If I stopped working I'd die," Philips said. "Are you afraid to stop?"

"Um, yeah. I mean, I dread the day. Time is my enemy. Time will catch up with me vocally. And I dread that. I dread to think about life without singing.

"It's a wonderful feeling to get on stage and pour all this stuff out and for people to go, 'Yeah!'"

MENCAP’S Little Noise Sessions Celebrate their 5th Birthday with a Series of Divine Performances. Starting with Tom Jones!!!!

TOM JONES & SPECIAL GUESTS, PAOLO NUTINI AND HURTS HEADLINE A WEEK OF EXCLUSIVE GIGS IN AID OF LEARNING DISABILITY CHARITY, MENCAP

15-20th November 2010

Union Chapel, Islington

www.littlenoisesessions.org.uk

To celebrate their 5^th birthday, Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions have enlisted superstar Tom Jones, multi-platinum selling Paolo Nutini and band of the moment Hurts to perform at the legendary series of acoustic gigs taking place from 15^th – 20^th November at Islington’s Union Chapel.  From today, subscribe at www.littlenoisesessions.org.uk to get tickets ahead of general release on Friday 15^th October, with all proceeds going to learning disability charity, Mencap.

Curated by Mencap Ambassador Jo Whiley, once again Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions will bring some of the hottest names in music, over six very special nights, to perform acoustically in the exquisite surroundings of the Union Chapel.  The stripped back music mixed with the intimate venue gives the audience the chance to see something truly unique each night.

Kicking off Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions birthday celebrations in style on Monday 15^th November is Welsh legend Tom Jones who will be performing a special set from his latest album Praise & Blame, enlisting support on the night from some special guests!

Next up is the award winning Paolo Nutini who will be donning his New Shoes and headlining on Tuesday 16^th November. Known for his velvet smooth vocals and anthemic hits including Last Request and Candy, Paulo will be joined by the sensational new pop-soul singer Rumer and the melodies of South London talent Michael Kiwanuka.

Wednesday 17^th November sees the UK’s fastest selling new band of 2010 Hurts who will be reworking their big synthpop sound to stunning effect. Supported by rising star Clare Maguire, who’s all about the voice, Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions is in for a real birthday treat. Rounding off Wednesday’s, line up of fresh new music is the deep, rich and smoky voice of soloist Joe Worricker.

Previous acts that have taken to the Union Chapel stage include Bono and The Edge, Arctic Monkeys, Killers, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Editors, Kasabian, Florence + The Machine, Noel Gallagher, Amy Winehouse, Stereophonics, Katy Perry, Snowpatrol and Lily Allen.  Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions are famous for wowing audiences with a bumper line-up and a host of surprise guests and this year will be no exception.

Mencap ambassador Jo Whiley says: “Mencap's Little Noise Sessions are back and it’s a very special year as we celebrate our 5th birthday with another stunning line up. Join us at the Chapel to witness some unbelievable gigs as well as raising money for this worthwhile cause."

Mark Goldring, Mencap’s chief executive, commented: “We are thrilled to be celebrating the fifth year of the Little Noise Sessions. These intimate gigs not only raise much-needed funds for Mencap, they also help us to raise awareness of learning disability, which can be a hard disability to understand. The money raised will help Mencap continue to support thousands of people with a learning disability across the UK”.

This year will also see the return of Mencap’s Big Noise Sessions, which makes its London debut in December.  Last year’s inaugural event saw bonafide superstars Coldplay perform a one-off homecoming gig in Exeter all in aid of Mencap.

There are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK, who are among the most excluded and disadvantaged people in our society. Those with a learning disability find it harder than others to learn, understand and communicate. Mencap fights for the changes that people with a learning disability, their families and supporters want and need so that they can live their lives the way they choose.

Subscribe now, for just £6 for six months to the Little Noise Sessions website www.littlenoisesessions.org.uk and have exclusive access to a host of great content including; priority ticketing, backstage footage, audio, photos and all the latest news from the daily Little Noise backstage blog. Subscribers will also be able to pick the best pew in the Chapel with priority entry to the gigs.

THE LINE UP SO FAR:

Monday 15^th November: Tom Jones Presents Praise and Blame with friends

Price: £50.00*

Tuesday 16^th November: Paolo Nutini, Rumer and Michael Kiwanuka

Price: £40.00*

Wednesday 17^th November: Hurts, Clare Maguire, Joe Worricker

Price: £25.00*

*All ticket prices are subject to an additional booking fee

DISABILITY BOOKING LINE: 020 7696 5547

Tom Jones to Appear on CBS Sunday Morning

Watch Tom Jones on CBS Sunday Morning on October 17th at 9am.

This is a biographical piece with a special performance of songs from Praise & Blame', one not to be missed!

Goldmine Pick: Tom Jones’ ‘Praise & Blame’

Tom JonesPraise & Blame Lost Highway Records Grade: ★★★★

I had a pre-conceived notion when sitting down to review the new Tom Jones album, “Praise & Blame.” After all, this was the panty-thrown singer who thrust his hips in the 1970s to throngs of women. Well, what I found on that first listen was definitely not stripped down women but a much stripped down sound which was actually really good, full of a combination of artistry and spirituality which opened up a whole other side to Jones. Opening with a Bob Dylan tune “What Good Am I,” it came out of the box with a simple low drum pounding which progressed into the song which Jones sang with clarity, showing off his true crisp sounding vocals and pronounced sound. This now 70-year-old crooner then went into the Jesse Mae Hemphill tune “Lord Help,” which further uncovered the true gospel rooted sound he was going for without choosing any obvious gospel classics that would throw this release into a sort of greatest hits collection of Southern Baptist classics. Produced by the well chosen Ethan Johns at Peter Gabriel’s studio in Wilshire, the “Did Trouble Me” cut was a stand alone song that is notably crisp with an almost speaking Jones heading into a soft banjo strumming accompaniment which sounds quintessentially Southern Gospel in its authenticity and tone. The only offering which seemed a bit contrived was his rendition of the John Lee Hooker song “Burning Hell,” of which his vocals sound very contrived as if he’s just trying too hard, and the tune is sort of overtaken by an electric guitar that makes this song feel like an unwanted speed bump on an otherwise well paced CD. Two standout tunes are by far “Strange Things” and “If I Give My Soul” during which I fond myself singing along to and can visualize Jones leading a huge choir of churchgoers in a heartfelt frenzy of seductive worship. “Praise & Blame” is definitely one to put on your must-buy list, whether you remember the 1970s Tom Jones or are a music fan who wasn’t even born in that era but someone who really wants a good listen to hear what a simple, clear, melodic musical revival sounds like.

Watch Tom's Performance of Burning Hell on The Late Show with David Letterman